How to Find a Local Group to Ride With
Ask any motorcyclist about riding solo. Some say they love it, and it helps them clear their heads after a long week at work. Others say riding alone is boring and potentially dangerous.
The most dangerous motorcycle accidents occur when riding alone. What if there’s nobody around to see you when you go down? What if you can’t drag yourself to safety, or even to a place where someone will see you? What if you can’t find your cell phone because the crash threw it 100 yards into the woods?
Who will find you?
Maybe nobody. And that’s a scary thought, especially if you have a family and little ones who depend on you at home.
It’s a major issue with motorcycle accidents. Who is going to save you when, not if, you go down? If you ride with a group of buddies, someone will look for you as soon as they notice you’re gone from the group. Having a group to find you may be the difference between your last ride and many more happy rides in the future. But how do you find a group?
Keep your eyes open
Motorcyclists are, by and large, a passionate and friendly bunch of people. If you see a group stopped somewhere, feel free to join in. Park your bike and introduce yourself. You never know when you’ll make a few new friends.
Big groups welcome new riders all the time. A small group may be more hesitant, especially if they’ve been planning their particular ride for a while. Read the situation like you would any other social situation and proceed from there. Spend a few minutes with the group and be sure to trade contact information. Connecting via social media is a great way to start building a network of like-minded motorcycling enthusiasts.
The Internet
Motorcycle and car enthusiasts were some of the first people to embrace the Internet and use it to connect with other people. Regardless of where or what you ride, there is a local forum, Facebook group, or website geared to your interests and riding style.
Don’t make the mistake of shying away from your local car forums. Car and bike enthusiasts often gather in the same places and use the same forums to talk to one another. Often there will be a sub-forum just for organizing group rides and social outings for local motorcyclists.
Find a group, ride with a group
Riding with a group isn’t just safer. It’s also more fun. The motorcycling experience can be as social or as solitary as you like it to be. Always be sure to tell your friends and family where you’re headed if you choose to ride alone. Better yet, provide them with a map of your intended course in case something happens.
Once you find a group, organizing frequent rides and outings goes a long way toward keeping the group together for years to come.
